Lisa Watson
CEO, Downtown Women’s Center
"Working these past 25 years in service to residents of Skid Row, I have found that racial and economic injustices lie at the root of problems that persist in this neighborhood. Policies that marginalize and divide people have left too many folks without a home. These days, divisions in our society are many and conflicts run deep. The enormous gap between wealth and poverty has never been greater. Criminalizing poverty is not a solution, nor is building walls. The solutions come with a compassionate understanding that we together populate this fragile world and only together can we hold each other up and push against injustice."
Biography
As CEO of Downtown Women’s Center (DWC), Lisa Watson oversees a 120-person team and a $10-million operating budget with the aim to end women’s homelessness in greater Los Angeles through housing, wellness, and advocacy. The community built by the women of Skid Row is a great example of resilience, yet women may still be counted among the marginalized groups who suffer the consequence of racial injustice and policies that reward wealth and demonize poverty.
Dedicated to positive social change, Watson began her career in the nonprofit sector over 20 years ago. As DWC’s CEO from 2000 through 2014, she transformed DWC into a nationally-recognized homeless services organization and anchor agency. From 2015-18, Watson was the inaugural director of The Laspa Center for Leadership at Scripps College. Under her leadership, the Center supported a diverse community of young women leaders. As the founder and principal of Watson Consulting Group, her work is focused on leadership and board development and system-wide change in the area of homelessness. Since 2014, she has served as a consultant for the Durfee Foundation.
Watson has been the recipient of several community awards, including being named a Local Hero by KCET and one of Los Angeles Magazine’s Top 50 Women Changemakers, and being recognized by The Annenberg Foundation as a visionary leader. She is married to Los Angeles artist Lisa Marsh and they have two grown daughters, Alice and Irene.